Guides · Planning around the visa window
Visa-free China: the trip
now needs no visa appointment.
For passport holders of 35 European countries, a 10–14 day private trip to China now needs no visa appointment at all — no embassy queue, no paperwork before you fly. This page is about the planning side of that: what 30 days actually buys you, when to book, and what happens if the policy lapses after 31 December 2026.
What 30 days actually buys you
Thirty days is not one city. It is every itinerary we publish, with margin to spare. The real question stops being “can I get in” and becomes “how much do I want to see”:
- A first China in one entry: our Classic China (10 days, Beijing–Xi’an–Shanghai) fits with ten days of headroom left over.
- The long story: the Silk Road (13 days, Xi’an to Kashgar) runs entirely inside one entry — no re-entry needed.
- The focused week: Chengdu & Sichuan (8 days) or Live Like a Local in Beijing (6 days) leave ample slack for delays and sidetracks.
- What 30 days does not cover: Tibet (a separate permit, which we arrange) and any single stay past 30 days — longer or multi-region trips need a visa or careful sequencing. We say which on the quote, in writing.
The time budget: when to book a visa-free trip
The visa used to govern your lead time. Now the scarce things are flights, name-registered train tickets, time-slot tickets for the Forbidden City, and good guides — all of which sell out in peak weeks. The honest arithmetic:
- Autumn 2026 (September–October): the most comfortable weather and the busiest season — two to three months of lead time is the honest recommendation.
- Christmas & New Year: flights peak early, so the fare decision matters more than the visa. Book by mid-autumn to keep the price sane.
- Spring 2027: the plan-if-it-lapses window — see the section below before you commit to dates.
None of this is “book before it disappears” — we do not sell with false urgency. It is arithmetic: the visa is no longer your constraint, the good tables are.
If the policy lapses after 31 December 2026
Renewal has not been announced, and we would rather you hear that from us than from a headline later. Two honest scenarios:
- It renews: nothing changes; we re-verify your passport before booking and again before you fly.
- It lapses: travel returns to the standard visa process — an application through the Chinese visa centre in your country, typically a few weeks of lead time and a fee. We will tell you the exact path for your nationality, and our booking terms do not trap you: the €250 deposit is fully refundable 45 days out.
The policy expires on a fixed date, so this page does too — check the banner at the top. The full rule, country by country, lives on our visa-free entry for Europeans page, including what actually happens at the border.
Key facts
- Who is coveredOrdinary-passport holders of 35 European countries; Czechia and Lithuania are not. We re-verify per nationality before booking.
- How longUp to 30 days per entry — one entry comfortably covers any published journey.
- Until whenAnnounced through 31 December 2026; renewal not announced.
- What it changesNo visa appointment, no embassy paperwork. Your lead time is now set by flights, trains and tickets, not by a visa queue.
Visa-free China 2026 — asked before you plan
Can I really travel to China without a visa in 2026?
Yes, if you hold an ordinary passport from one of 35 European countries. You may enter China visa-free for up to 30 days per entry — for tourism, business, family or friend visits, exchanges or transit — and the arrangement is announced as running through 31 December 2026. Czechia and Lithuania are not covered. We re-verify the rules for your exact nationality before you book anything.
What does 30 days visa-free actually buy me?
In planning terms, a comfortable 10 to 14 days of ground travel with no visa appointment, no embassy queue, no paperwork before you fly. A 10-day classic route (Beijing–Xi’an–Shanghai) fits with days to spare; a 13-day Silk Road fits in one entry; a focused Chengdu or Beijing week leaves plenty of margin. It does not cover Tibet or Xinjiang without separate permits, and it does not reset if you stay past 30 days per entry.
How early should I book a visa-free China trip?
The visa no longer governs your lead time — flights, trains and name-registered tickets do. High-speed rail and the Forbidden City time-slot tickets are real-name and sell out in peak weeks; character hotels and good guides fill first. For autumn 2026 and the Christmas–New Year window we suggest two to three months' lead time, but we quote honestly and tell you if a shorter window still works.
What if the visa-free policy lapses after 31 December 2026?
Renewal has not been announced, so we plan for both outcomes and we never use “book before it disappears” as a sales line. If it lapses, visa-free travel returns to the standard process: an application through the Chinese visa centre in your country, usually a few weeks of lead time and a fee. Our promise, written on every page: we reconfirm the rules for your nationality before you book, and re-verify again before you fly.
Does 30-day visa-free entry cover Tibet and the autonomous regions?
Not automatically. Tibet requires a Tibet Travel Permit arranged in advance through a registered operator (which we do for our guests), and border-sensitive areas may need additional permits. The 30-day visa-free entry gets you into China; the internal permits are separate, and we quote and confirm them in writing before you pay anything.
Plan around the window
Tell us your dates — we’ll handle the rules.
We reconfirm the visa-free rules for your exact nationality before you book, and again before you fly. A person replies within one working day.